Cotton-harvester



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

P. L. WARNER,

COTTON HARVESTER. I

No. 291,438. g V Patented Ja n; 1;"1 4.

WITNESSES: I mvENmR.

17% m r V ATTORNEYS.

N. FE-I'ERS FIMM-illlagrapher. Wauhingtoln D- C.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

F. L; WARNER.

GOTTONIHARVESTER. No. 291,438. Patente-dJan. 1, 1884.

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ATTORNEYS.

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shafts of the upper belt-rollers, a.

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PATENT Fries.

FERNANDO L. \VARNER, OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

COTTON-HARVES'TER.

SPECIFIC ATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291,438, dated January1, 1884.

Application filed March 6,1883.

(No model.)

and the cotton gathered thereby.

It has for its object to provide means for gathering the cottonautomatically, as hereinafter fully described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation of my cottonharvester. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of thesame, andFig. 3 is a transverse vertical section at 00 :12, Fig. 1.

A represents a belt or apron,of any suitable kind, such as a strip ofleather or of two or more chains running over rollers a a. This belt isprovided with pickers consisting of wire teeth 11 from two to six incheslong, as the particular kind of cotton tobe picked may require; or theseteeth may be part short and partlon g on the same belt, to equalize thestrain and suit the varying position of the cottonbolls on the plants.The teeth are fastened to the belt by means of slats B, of thin metal,

in pairs, the two slats of each pair clasping the belt and holding to itby the pickers extending through both. The rotation of these belts iscaused by therotation of the supportingwheels O, in advancing along theground, as follows: are pulleys or sprocket-wheels, secured upon thewheels 0, to carry belts or driving chains, which pass over pulleys orsprocket-wheels D, to revolve two independent shafts, (1 cl, whicharejournaled in the main frameF of the machine.

6 care two large beveledgear wheels secured on shafts cl (1, andengaging pinions F on the By means of the two independent shafts theconnection of each picker-belt with its drive=wheel is made independentof theoth er, so that whether turning corners or running straight one ofthe belts is sure to be working.

ff are combs placed adjacent to each gatheringbelt A, to strip thecotton from the teeth I; and cause it to drop into a trough, G, in thebottom of which a belt or endless apron, 9, travels on two rollers, H H,driven by a belt from pulley D, passing over pulley h, to carry thecotton into the receptacle I. I further provide a rotary stripper, i,for each belt,consisting of a cylinder having one or more rows of wireteeth revolving in the same direction that the cotton is carried by thepickers, buta great deal faster, so as to strip the cotton from thepickers into the carrier-trough G with cer tainty. The strippers i areprovided with pinionsj, which engagelarger spur-gear wheels J on therollers a. Thus the relative speed of the picker-rolls and the strippersis made positive.

KK represent sheet-metal guides flaring in the direction of travel ofthe machine, and secured to the frame F at their forward ends, and tothe swinging frames of the picker-belts A at their rearends, to guidethe branches of the cotton-plants between the picker-belts.

That the picker-belts may be adapted to the varying width ofcotton-rows, or, more properly, to the size of the plants, thesupportslcof the lower rollers, a, are hung to the frame on hingebolts at theirtop ends to swing at their lower ends to and from the row, and they areprovided with braces. L, in which are several holes to receive thestaypin Z, by which means the picker-belts may be fixed at the desiredwidth apart. This adjustment is more necessary at the bottom than at thetop of the picker-belts, as the cotton-plants have more and stifferbranches near the groun (1 than higher up.

The team may be hitched to the machine in any usual manner, as by thewhiffletrees M, attached to the frame.

in m are two caster-wheels supporting the forward part of the machine,and N is a hind whee1,to prevent a heavy load of cotton from tipping therear end of the machine down.

For convenience in unloading the machine, I provide a box-body, I, torest on rollers P, jonrnaled in the main frame, and to be held fromsliding off backward by means of hooks p, or any similar device.

When the body becomes filled with cotton, the hooks p are disengaged andthe body easily drawn back over its rollers P and dumped.

Having thus described my invention, what I 2 The combinatio11,with theframe E, of two claim, and wishto secureby Letters Patent,is toothedbelts, A, their rollers a, journaled in 1. The combination, with thetoothed belts the swinging frames 70, and means for adjust- A, two pairsof rollers, a a, and the pinions F ing said frames relative to avertical plane, I 5

5 on the upper rollers, a, of the gear-wheels e, for the purposespecified.

the two independent shafts d, the wheels D thereon, the pulleys securedon the support ing-wheels 0,,and the driving-belts, as described,whereby eaeh pickerbelt is run by lVitnesses:

IO its own supporting-Wheel independently of I the other, as specified.

FERNANDO L. VARNER.

H. O. ASHBROOK,

J. T. PETTIT.

